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There are many excellent beaches within easy reach of the city of Christchurch and they all fall into the Pacific Ocean. Marine Parade is the first near the Queen Elizabeth II Park that was built for the commonwealth games of 1974. The complex has a swimming pool, a children's fun fair with lots of mini activities to keep them amused. New Brighton is one of the old traditional hangouts and a good place to head if you want some activity or the chance to fish with the locals off the pier. All along this east coast is a stretch of sand from Waimari Beach to the estuary of the Avon that should please sand seekers. South of New Brighton is the suburb of Bromley that opens to the ocean at the estuary of the Avon and Heathcote. Apart from the wildlife reserves the basin is a great place of r sailing and windsurfing. The south side of the estuary has the better spots with lots of activities and some nice restaurants. In particular Redcliffs, an estuary beach, starts off a five KM walk known as the Barnett Park Walkway that takes you through diverse land such grassland to rock tops and caves. Continuing along the coast from Redcliffs, you arrive at Sumner and the sea beaches. As this is also an upmarket suburb it has some lovely cafés and restaurants. The most interesting part of this area for trail blazers are the walks around Sumner head and the moa caves. |